How much cheaper does new design cost?

The new design, by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will cost 149 billion yen to build.

Ms Hadid’s plan would have cost 252 billion yen, making it the world’s most expensive sports venue.

Mr Kuma’s design will cost an additional 4billion yen to design and maintain.

Resignation of Hakubun Shimomura

The scrapping of the design caused a row that eventually led to the resignation of Japan’s Education and Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura in October.

Concerns have already been raised about whether that design will be completed in time for 2020 – the first time the city has hosted the Summer Games since 1964.

As well as objections to its ballooning cost, Ms Hadid’s design was criticised by some in Tokyo for its similarly huge size and its unusual shape.

A close ally of conservative Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Mr Shimomura had been run the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, which is in charge of overseeing the Olympic Games.

Speaking at a press conference at his ministry following a meeting with the prime minister, Mr Shimomura said he told Mr Abe he wanted to take responsibility for the stadium problems.

Local reports said the panel pinned responsibility on the government body overseeing the project, the Japan Sports Council, and Mr Shimomura’s ministry. Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, president of Tokyo’s organising committee, was also blamed.

Mr.Kuma’s New Design

Mr Kuma’s design echoes Japanese temple styles, with a low-lying steel and wood structure, surrounded by trees. It will sit more than 20 metres lower than the previous design and supporters say it fits better with its immediate environment, which includes the greenery around the nearby Meiji Shrine.

It beat a rival proposal by architect Toyo Ito. That was simpler than Ms Hadid’s proposal, which was compared with a gigantic bicycle helmet or an oyster, and which would have taken up a much larger area – 78,100 sq m against 72,400 sq m for Kengo Kuma’s concept.

Construction or the new design will also be quicker. Necessarily so when the International Olympic Committee deadline for completion is January 2020, ahead of the Games’ start in July that year.

The new winning design has also attracted colourful comparisons, with some saying it looks like a stack of pancakes, or a hamburger.

Sixty-eight thousand spectators will pack the stadium, though that can be expanded to 80,000 after the Olympics, if needed. The old design had a capacity of 80,000 from the start and was expected to host the final of the Rugby World Cup in 2019.

The new stadium will not be built in time to host that event.

Summary

A new, more scaled-down, design has been chosen for the main stadium at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

The new design, by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, will cost 149 billion yen to build.

The scrapping of the design caused a row that eventually led to the resignation of Japan’s Education and Sports Minister Hakubun Shimomura in October.

Mr Kuma’s design echoes Japanese temple styles, with a low-lying steel and wood structure, surrounded by trees. It will sit more than 20 metres lower than the previous design and supporters say it fits better with its immediate environment, which includes the greenery around the nearby Meiji Shrine.

The new winning design has also attracted colourful comparisons, with some saying it looks like a stack of pancakes, or a hamburger.